Finally, Fluffy/Buffy started laying!

Let me tell you a bit about Buffy (officially named "Fluffy", but I like Buffy better). After debating whether she's worth keeping... we have decided to put up with her longer. She's got the biggest personality in the flock, despite being the lowest in the pecking order. She's a bit of a loudmouth-busybody! We used to distinguish her from her twin Buff Orpington flock-mate named Ginger, by her shorter comb. Now that it has grown, we can only distinguish her by the egg she lays, if we happen to notice her lay it, or by her squawky personality. She squawks in the morning, to announce that another hen is in the nesting box (even if the hen is just fixing her nest and not actually laying) and she squawks again when the egg has been laid. If two hens are in the two nesting boxes at the same time, she really makes an announcement. She also is the "hens jumped the 4-ft gate to the side yard" alarm. She was the last hen to finally start laying and within the 3 weeks she's been laying, she's laid 5 eggs, though she and the other hens ate 2 of them. Given that she's only laid 5 eggs total, she's been squawking on the other hens' behalves for months now! For some reason, she likes to lay on the ground, but when an egg is on the ground, the hens can't help themselves but to eat it up, shell and all, at that moment. In fact, Doily has been known to purposely knock her eggs out of the nesting box onto the ground so that she can eat it. Weird!









From left to right, these eggs were laid on Dec. 29 and 30 by: Doily, Minerva, Louise, Ginger, and Buffy.

Each hen lays a distinctive color/shape/size so we are able to tell which hen is laying which egg. Doily's eggs are a medium brown and they are the most slender egg. Minerva lays a small, dark brown egg. Louise lays a fat medium brown egg that usually has some white calcium spots on the outside. Ginger lays the lightest colored egg, but with a shape very much like Minerva's. The darkest brown egg is Buffy's and they are also larger and more torpedo shaped than Minerva's. Hawk's egg, not pictured above because she hasn't been laying for a few weeks, is white. Below, is a photo taken in October when Hawk laid her first white egg.

We're Learning So Much from These Hens!

Yesterday, I left the hens in the coop until mid-day. Minerva ran straight to her nest in the bamboo to go lay her egg! I guess she was saving it to lay when she got out.















Today, Minerva's egg was full sized! This picture shows her small egg laid yesterday and her large egg layed today. Coby wonders if it will have two yolks like Hawk's giant egg had.





















Not only did Minerva lay her egg in the bamboo nest, Hawk did as well. In fact, both of them decided to lay their eggs at the same time, so they were crammed in there together. Maybe Minerva is getting broody because she continued to sit on her egg after laying it. Coby said he lifted Minerva up and took her egg. Poor hen!

Doily also layed an egg today-- in Minerva's nest! Both Doily and Hawk were seen a couple times in the actual nesting box this morning, getting the nest ready, but for some reason, they both ended up laying in Minerva's nest. There were lots of noises coming from the hens this morning, but I wasn't sure who it came from. Maybe Minerva called Hawk and Doily to come lay eggs in her nest?

Oh Where Oh Where Could Those Little Eggs Be?

Minerva has been laying an egg virtually every day for the last three weeks. However, since Thursday, we have not found any eggs from her. Today, we decided to keep all the hens in the coop to see if they would lay eggs in their nesting box. Minerva, Doily, and Hawk all laid eggs by lunch time, so they could go free range for the rest of the day.
















After searching for a nest in the backyard for several days, we finally found the nest-- with 5 eggs in it-- nestled in the bamboo! Upon quick inspection, Coby was able to determine that 4 of the eggs were Minerva's and one was laid by Doily. Hawk has always laid her eggs in the nesting box (good chicken!). Doily's egg is the lighter colored one on the bottom right in the photo above.

We needed to decide if the eggs were still fresh or if they had spoiled. We decided to do the floating test to find out. If they float, they are spoiled and if they sink, they are fresh. If they sink, but tip, they are getting old, but could still be used in baking or to hard boil.

http://whatscookingamerica.net/Eggs/EggsFloat.htm

All five eggs sank, without tipping, so I scrambled them for lunch. Yum yum!

Double Yolks

The first egg I cracked open this evening while making a frittata was Hawk's giant white egg. What a surprise to find two yolks in that one egg!
















Here is the first frittata made from our eggs-- 1 giant egg from Hawk, 4 Minerva eggs, 2 eggs from Coby's school farm (Ohlone School), and 2 of Doily's eggs. It also had swiss chard from our garden, parsley, onion, and New Zealand sharp cheddar. It was pretty yummy!

Hawk

When we were picking chicks at the pet store in May, we were told that Hawk is a "red sex link", which meant her color was linked to her sex chromosome and was bred to be a good egg layer. However, as she developed, she did not look like any pictures of the red sex links (also called Red Stars), but we could never quite figure out her breed. Now that we know she lays white eggs, instead of brown, we discovered she's a Mediterranean breed known as a Leghorn. White Leghorns are among the best egg layers and are therefore the most common for industrial chicken farming, producing cartons and cartons of white eggs sold in grocery stores. However, we have a Brown Leghorn, and while still a fabulous egg producer, she is not as productive as the white variety. We are still impressed by her egg size-- JUMBO!

Hawk's first egg!

Hawk laid her first egg today and we were so surprised to see how big it is! In this photo, the light brown egg is from Doily, the darker brown egg is from Minerva and the giant white one is from Hawk. Remi and I went to check on the hens after school and dance class on this crazy rainy day because they were making such loud clucking noises. I think it was Hawk singing her "I laid an egg" song because her egg was hot when we got in.





















Here is the temporary rain cover on the coop today. The wind was blowing in the rain, so now the girls can stay dry.

Two Egg Layers, So Far...

"Minerva"














There are now two Holly Oak Hens laying eggs! The first hen, named Minerva, has been laying for 10 days now and has given us a total of 7 eggs. She's the friendliest of the flock and really enjoys being held. Minerva is one of our two Barred Rock chickens and overall, her coloring is lighter than the other Barred Rock (who doesn't have a name yet).


"Doily"

















Doily, who gets her name as tribute to her breed (a Silver-Laced Wyndotte) layed her first egg yesterday. And like Minerva, she chose to lay her egg in the homemade nest under the rolls of spare chicken wire in the side yard, rather than in the nicely constructed nesting boxes. Doily is our showiest hen who, until recently, we suspected might be a rooster. We know for certain she is a hen because Remi and watched the egg actually "plop" out yesterday!

















You can see in the picture that there is a remarkable difference in these two brown eggs. Doily's egg is lighter in color than Minerva's. And Minerva's egg is a little fatter than Doily's.





















Here is the nest that Minerva made, after cracking two eggs in the nesting box because she scratched out all the straw and wood shavings from the box. She found the perfect spot in the side yard under the leftover chicken wire. Doily must've paid attention because she explored the coop's nesting box, but chose to lay in Minerva's nest.

First egg and check out my rooster...

Here is our first egg! The nesting boxes got installed last weekend (thanks Dad!) and we set out plastic Easter eggs in the boxes to give the hens a clue as to what to do in there. The boys have been checking for eggs each day, yet we were shocked to find the little brown egg this afternoon. The egg is really small. In the pictures below, you can see Remi and Coby holding it in comparison to a store bought "large" chicken egg.





















Remi holding the first egg (left) and a store bought egg.




















Coby's showing the egg comparison.

















My mother made this rooster out of bottle caps (and twigs for the feet). It is awesome. No, she did not drink all that beer! Coby helped design the color scheme to match our Silver Laced Wyandotte named "Doily".














Here are the big hens at about 19 weeks old. Which one layed that egg?

Pecking Order

The birds have developed a pecking order now. The chicken at the top is one of the Buff Orpingtons (golden hen). Oddly, the chicken at the bottom is the other Buff Orpington. The way we can tell them apart is that the top bird has a thicker neck than the bottom bird. The lowest bird steps back and defers to let the top birds get their food first. Poor thing!



















The prime spot on the roosting bar is the left, where you'll find the top dog... I mean, the top bird! Every night, the top bird is in this spot. And a couple night ago, Coby and I watched her harass the Silver-Laced Wyandotte who was in her spot... until she got it.














A blog post to come is how to get a chicken permit in Palo Alto...

Broadening Diet

Remi is feeding the chickens some "scratch" (cracked corn and wheat).














The birds are enjoying their salad. Coby thought it was really funny to see their green avocado beaks!

Each day, the chickens spend most of their time free-ranging around the back yard. They really enjoy it, but now we cannot walk around barefoot out there anymore for fear of stepping in chicken poop.

I have increased the variety of foods the chickens get because one hen got pecked on its head and foot by another (or others?) and it actually bled. Giving them leafy greens that take a long time to eat helps reduce boredom and is also healthy.

These chickens are about half-way to egg-laying maturity! They are either 9 or 10 weeks old now and should start laying eggs around 20 weeks.

Free (Range) at last!

The girls have gone outside for two afternoons now and they sure enjoy it! They peck in the ground for bugs and at leaves to eat. They stay together as a group and if one gets separated, she makes a big fuss as she flies back to the rest of the flock. So far, they are rather easy to round-up back into the coop. But now that they know they can get out of the coop, every time someone enters, they want to escape-- especially the Buff Orpingtons (golden ones). Can you find all 6 in this photo? One is pretty hidden, but they are all there.


And below, I'm talking on the phone while holding both Barred Rocks (Coby took the photo).

Goodnight, girls.

I went in to take a picture of all the girls sleeping. It is funny how some face "out" of the coop and some face "in." The preferred spot really seems to be that corner.




















Livia (neighbor) loves to visit the chickens!

New Roosting Bar, Corn

Damon enjoys it when the chickens perch on him. For this photo, Coby placed little piles of food on Damon's legs. In the photo below, they have started pecking his head!





























Yum-- corn on the cob! What a treat.















Here is one of the new roosting bars Damon installed. There is another lower one that is not visible in this photo.

Thank you to our neighbors!

We often find all six chicks roosting in a row like this. The roosting bar was installed by our caring neighbors when we were away on vacation last weekend.
















Our neighbors brought over some melon rinds for the girls-- look how much they are enjoying it!

Growing (Size and Friendliness)- 5 1/2 weeks old

Coby is holding the Silver Laced Wyandotte. Notice the coloring in the feathers. This is our biggest chick.
















Remi enjoys feeding the chicks from his hand.
















While we were out of town for a long weekend, our neighbors cared for the chicks (and did a great job!). During that time, they made a roosting bar for the girls and we've seen several of them enjoying it. They also try to roost on the framing of the coop, so we will need to provide a couple more roosting options soon.
















Here is an up-close photo of one of the Buff Opingtons. She's got just a little bit of fuzz left on her head, but otherwise fully feathered.

Having chicks is a bit like having a baby around the house. We get lots of visitors who come by to see them, hold them, and check out the great coop! So fun-- we welcome more visitors!

Holly Oak Hen Haven Completed!

The Holly Oak Hen Haven has been completed! While the boys and I were in Oklahoma, Damon finished the coop and the Holly Oak Hens moved in. By day, the chicks are outside enjoying the dirt and fresh air, scratching away to their hearts' content. And at night, the girls move back into their cage and condo attachment with the security of their heat lamp. A few finishing touches still need to be made on the coop, like hanging the waterer and feeder, adding nesting boxes and roosting bars, and somehow sealing the space above the door so rats don't get in. The coop is awesome-- thank you Dad and Damon for your fine workmanship and all the time you spent designing and constructing the coop of my dreams! Oh, and I'll need to decorate the coop a bit as well.

It has been a week since we've seen the chicks and my have they grown! The Silver Laced Wyandotte has grown white feathers on her head! All the birds look bigger and covered in more feathers. And when I got home late last night and saw them, a couple had learned to roost on their bamboo perches for sleeping!

Feature Breed: Red Sex Link

Here is a picture of my Red Sex Link (also called a Red Star) chick. This one is supposed to be guaranteed to be female because the coloration is linked to the sex chromosome. However, this one is not looking so red. If she is indeed female, she is supposed to be a stellar egg layer! She is supposed to be rather un-phased by cold or hot weather and should just keep laying. You can see her feathers have been coming in on her wings, back, and tail. Her head is still mostly fluffy. She has been getting her feathers before the Buff Orpingtons and Barred Rocks. I do think she's older than the others, maybe as much as a week older.

Damon continues to work on the coop. Here you can see most of the hardware cloth up. Soon the chicks will be able to spend their days out in their coop!

For the past couple of days, I have put the chicks in their cage out on the front patio. But today, I put the cage down on some dirt. The girls spent a lot of time pecking in the dirt from their cage. In fact, their poop turned dark today, most likely from the dirt. It seems as though the chicks don't rest when they are outside. They are busy pecking, chasing each other around, etc. So when I do bring them back inside around dinner time and refill their food/water, they eat and drink for a few minutes and then fall alseep for a while. They always look so wiped out!

This picture of the chicks in their cage was taken after they had a couple hours of rest this evening. On the top bar are the Red Sex Link and one Barred Rock. In the middle of the photo are the Silver Laced Wyandotte and a Buff Orpington. Front left is another Buff Orpington and front right is the other Barred Rock. They got quite curious tonight. A couple ventured out of their cage and came to perch on my fingers.

Australorp, No More

The Black Australorp was going to be my favorite hen because of the pretty green/purple iridescence on the black feathers. Also, this bird is supposed to lay an average of 5 eggs per week AND she was supposed to have a sweet and shy temperament. Unfortunately, the chick we thought was a Black Australorp developed stripes and looks just like the Barred Rock, so I guess we have two Barred Rocks. Oh well, at least she is still alive and hasn't ended up a rooster (yet)!


The coop is looking nice. Damon has been working hard putting up the hardware cloth, and it looks really nice! He has the right side of the coop mostly done. It would be nice to get these stinky chicks outside during the day. They eat and poop so much and I'm sure they'd like to have some more space. I clean their cage every 24 hours and I think I need to start doing it twice/day because it is so stinky by the next day. But the more they eat, the faster they grow, and the sooner we get eggs.


The "girls" have been losing their fluff and new feathers have been growing in. It is hard to sweep up the fluff because it flies across the kitchen so easily. Imagine sweeping dandilion puff balls and that's what it is like.




Here is a picture of the curious girls when I opened their cage. The Buff Orpintons (yellow chicks) like to come out and visit with me, but the other birds need some coaxing.

Perching

The birds have been looking for new places to perch. I added some bamboo bars to serve as practice roosting bars. While the various chicks have been standing on them for a couple of days, today I saw the Barred Rock sitting down on the bar.

In the next photo, the Silver Laced Wyandotte is perched on the feeder. Incidentally, the birds seem to be eating constantly. In 10 days, I've gone through 5 pounds of chick food. And how do they eat and chirp at the same time? It seems that every waking moment, the birds are chirping. The chirp is pleasant, not loud.

This weekend Damon was at the Maker Faire, so he didn't work on the coop. Today he started nailing up the hardware cloth (with smaller holes than chicken wire so rats can't get in the coop). I will post a picture of it next time.


And here is what the Silver Laced Wyandotte should look like (top) and the Barred Rock (bottom). Both hens should lay an average of 4 brown eggs per week. While the Barred Rock is "calm, plucky, and docile" the Wyandotte is generally easy-going with a tendency towards domination. In fact, even as a chick, this bird seems to be in charge of the rabbit cage. But look how pretty she'll become!